Tag Archives: city

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Dilapidated Garage, Virgil Street

March 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A very old and dilapidated garage with hand-painted sign along Virgil Street in the Mission District, San Francisco, California.

Believe it or not, this is street photography.

I know it looks more like scene from an old farm perhaps, featuring the worn doors of the barn or a storage shed. We can imagine that it sits along a pasture or near the farmhouse, and the bit of green might suggest unseen springtime growth nearby. But it was actually photographed in a narrow and very urban alley in San Francisco’s dense and busy Mission District. It was shot “street style” with a handheld camera equipped with only a 50mm prime as I wandered around on foot.

I had seen this garage and pair of doors many times before, and I had thought about photographing them. However the scene never quite seemed to work as a photograph. But on this day two things came together and provoked me to make a few images. First, the light was very interesting. It was a cloudy day, but occasionally the clouds would thin or almost part enough to let in brighter but still diffused light – and that is the light that I used to make this exposure. Second, the little bit of new plant growth (OK, it is a weed) lends a bit of color contrast and life to the scene.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/160 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, district, garage, door, wall, paneling, hinge, rusty, window, brace, dilapidated, virgil, street, alley, plant, crack, parking, night, sign, peeling, paint, sidewalk, cement, geometric, form, structure, architecture, old, historic, worn, building, stock, gray

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Belmar Meat Market, The Mission

March 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Photograph of street scene in the Mission with man walking on sidewalk, Belmar Meat Market sign, and other urban elements – San Francisco, California.

Another Mission District street scene – a matter of spotting an interested set of urban storefronts, composing the shot, and then watching for the right person or persons to walk through the frame. I’m fascinated by the complexity of these urban scenes and by the individuality of the storefronts in this type of place – each one seems to reflect something about the surrounding community and the people who live there. In this one certain compositional elements and color relationships also caught my attention.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/50 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, man, walking, trash, recycle, can, receptacle, belmar, meat market, la gallinita, entrance, corner, gate, door, window, blinds, painting, decay, wrought, iron, tile, 24th, curb, travel, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wall and Signs, The Mission

March 2, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Brightly colored yellow and blue wall with red and white sign and restaurant window with food photographs, The Mission, San Francisco, California.

Another photograph of the subject I posted earlier – some very colorfully painted walls in the Mission District of San Francisco. While the previous one was a tighter crop in “landscape” orientation, I composed this one to show more of the vertical lines and to include the window-posted menu on the right side. Kind of makes me hungry just to look at it!

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/30 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, wooden, wall, yellow, blue, paint, sign, gorda, red, white, mexican, food, photo, picture, window, menu, enchiladas, verde, tostadas, special, omelette, rojas, huevos, con, chorizo, rancheros, stripe, structure, graphic, vertical, shadow, trim, architecture, structure, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Brightly Painted Wall, Mission District

March 1, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Detail of a brightly painted red, yellow, blue, and white wall in San Francisco’s Mission District.

One sub-category of my photography focuses on businesses and shops and so forth that are not cookie-cutter chains. I love the way that these businesses seem to collect their own character over time, and I also like the wild and diverse ways that small business owners present themselves. I spotted this wild conjunction of brightly painted colors as I walked along 24th street in the Mission District of San Francisco on a Sunday afternoon. In this version of the photograph (yes, there is another) I framed a small section of the building wall closely to try to fill the frame with these colors.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/25 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, texture, pattern, stripe, line, red, yellow, white, red, vertical, bright, painted, paint, district, 24th, wall, wood, city, stock, color, primary, reflection

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.